[Hepatic puncture biopsy by the transjugular route].

The authors report their experience of transjugular liver biopsy, a method which consists in taking a liver specimen with a needle placed in a hepatic vein. This method was used in 13 patients in whom conventional liver needle biopsy was contraindicated because of massive ascites or bleeding tendency. In 10 of these patients, a liver specimen was obtained; in patients with cirrhosis or chronic active hepatitis, the liver specimens were more or less divided into small fragments, which prevented correct assessment of liver architecture in three of them. The examination was well tolerated. The authors conclude that transjugular liver biopsy is not technically difficult in centers where hepatic vein catheterization is available and that this method is indicated in patients in whom conventional liver needle biopsy is contraindicated.